"Surprises"
Everyone else was going to prom...except me. That's mainly because I'd lost my date at the last second. All of a sudden my girlfriend of four months, a beautiful young lady that I'd gotten to know so well, had completely lost interest in me. At first, I was quite confused. I mean, what could I have done wrong? I'd never had a serious girlfriend before, but if she needed to tell me something, why couldn't she just come out and say it?
Why did she have to act on impulse and distance herself from me so abruptly? If it was some other guy, I'd understand...somewhat. I'd probably want to confront him, but I sure as heck wouldn't know what to say. Since Zoey had made such a rash decision, this guy most likely meant a lot to her. While I was obviously just a fill in. When I delve that deep into it, I feel like such a sad sack. I mean, I should have definitely seen this coming.
But I'm not ashamed of that. I might get a chance to talk to her later on or some other time or...maybe never. What upsets me the most is that I couldn't think of any other place to go but the freaking library. So here I am, sitting at a table in the back of the room, alone. Although I'm certain that more people are going to show up eventually, I'm not so eager to bet on it.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of a door being pushed open. That's when I know that another being around my age that I could possibly talk with has arrived! She walks through the security barrier thingy, and then approaches the librarian's desk. She seems to start up a conversation with her, as if she's her mom or aunt, or as if they're friends or something. That strikes me as weird, but I figure she must come here a lot.
Her long brown hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she's wearing a pair of Uggs. Shoot! That reminds me of my annoying little sister. Maybe I am slightly homesick and just don't want to admit, though. Ah, well. She's moving away from the front desk now.
As her eyes scan over the rows and rows of bookcases, I push my face farther into the book, so only my eyes are peering over the top. I watch her, feeling a little perverted for some odd reason. You know, like those dudes in the bushes with binoculars? Or those creepy old guys on Myspace and Facebook and stuff who pretend to be in their twenties?
The difference between me and them is I have morals and values, and wear my purity ring when I go to church. My friends back home wonder why I don't wear it here, but I...I just didn't want to get teased. I was too afraid. After finally graduating from Catholic school, I think I've earned the right to let loose a little.
Getting tangled up in my own head has caused me to lose track of this incredibly hot female I was supposed to be watching. She's probably looking for a book she's actually going to read, and that reminds me that we are being forced to read Shakespeare's Hamlet and then Macbeth for senior Honor's Literature next year. The idea of that just burns me. To be or not to be? That's all I know and want to know. Romeo and Juliet both killed themselves and that's completely against my religion and beliefs. The Creator gave those people lives. They should have been thankful. Use your life wisely: live it, learn from it, love it, cherish it. Those are the words I live by to this day. So what if they're fictional characters? I've never actually read that so called "legendary masterpiece" but I can say one thing: I think it's a hunk of baloney that he wrote to feed to 17th century or whatever angst ridden teens. Apparently those didn't exist before the 90's, but I beg to differ.
Slowly, I turn around and see the girl crouched down on the floor, flipping the pages in what I can tell is a coffee table book. Ha! She probably actually enjoys those things. Again I hear the sound of something towards the front of the library, but no one is entering this time. This makes me feel like a total loser. Here I am, in the library on prom night! I bet even Stacey and Firewire and his "comic book crew" are there! What has happened to my social life? And what about my social skills? And what about my dating skills? My parents would be so proud right about now.
"Hello."
"Ah!" A shout escapes my throat and I realize that the girl is now about to seat herself in front of me. "Sorry. I forgot my manners for a second there."
"It's okay. I'm used to that initial reaction around here," she jokes, slipping into the hardback chair. Since she was the one who approached me, I'm half expecting her to start the conversation. Just as my lips curve to form some kind of word in some very foreign language, both her hands fly to her mouth.
"Oh dear! You like Keats? He's my all-time favorite!" My brow furrows in confusion, and she points to the cover of the book I'm supposed to be reading. I turn it to face me and that's when I realize I've been staring at the pages of this random book of poetry the whole time.
"Yeah, love him. He's uh...he's...mighty fine!" I pump my fist and flash her a Crest commercial smile. "Very talented individual."
"Yeah, of course. So...what's your favorite piece of his?" Oh dear Lord. The question I've been dreading. Seeing it in the movies and on TV is painful enough. The worst part is, I'm not even trying to pick her up! Well, at least not yet.
"Er..." I flip the page. "Hyperion, it's just fantastic." I feel horrible lying to her like that and I wonder if I even pronounced it right.
"I would have liked that one, but it wasn't completed due to his untimely death," she tells me, looking down at the books she's chosen.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, that sucked." Right about now, I can imagine that she thinks I'm a bumbling idiot and I most likely don't have a chance in he- Ahem, down there, with her. If only my bro Jeremiah could see how well his dating dos and don'ts are coming in handy.
"Well, on a higher note, what do you think of these?" she queries, pushing her books toward me. Picking them up off the table, I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize that they're books that a normal teenage girl would read.
"Well, everyone's into Harry Potter so I think that's pretty self explanatory," I say, putting the humongous book off to the side.
"I hate it," she interjects. "I'm doing a research project. Trying to understand the appeal, you know?"
No, I don't know. Something along the lines of "normal" just escaped my mind. This chick seems overly smart and yet she isn't willing to give up on my lack of intellectuality.
Swallowing hard, I glance up at the clock on the wall nervously. "Well, that's rather...nice."
"No, more like torture. But whatever. Reading and poetry are my secret past times. Obviously they're not yours, so what do you like to do?" Pulling the scrunchie out of her hair, she shakes her head around, and then begins using her fingers as a comb. She removes her hands from under the table and I see that she's wearing a bright purple nail polish. Now that's spunk.
This last move I wasn't expecting though. Swiftly and without shame, she unbuttons the third button on her tailored white shirt to reveal a tattoo. It's as if she already knew my ultimate weakness. Sexy tattoos on girls. Darn! Since I'm staring, she explains, "Conservative isn't really me."
Biting down on my lower lip, I put the other books down. "So?" she breaks the lingering silence. "Answer the question." Somewhere in my ears hears her, but my eyes are fixated on that tattoo, which are in turn fixated on two other "things" around her chest area.
Instead of drooling over it, I straighten myself and try not to stare. "I play soccer, ping pong. Listen to oldies and alternative, been to a couple shows. Sometimes I play video games...only here, though. My family thinks it's a sin to indulge in those types of activities."
"Wow, so do you think they'd think it's sinful to stare at people's chest blatantly?" she asks, but I barely hear her.
"What?"
"Never mind." Rolling her eyes, she decides to change the subject. "So how come you're not at prom? I sorta thought you'd have been going with your girlfriend."
"Oh, we broke up."
"And you're not sad about it? At all?"
Shaking my head, I wave my hand in nonchalance. "Not a bit. I realized what a slut she is anyway." Oops! That's the first thing that came to my mind. Something I wrote down about my second to last girlfriend.
"Really? Because I've known that for a while now." My jaw drops, and she raises her precisely arched eyebrows. "But I don't think you want to know." Pausing for a moment, she peers directly into my eyes. "Pretty blue," she whispers, and I grin sheepishly. "Wait, you two didn't have sex did you?"
"Four months? After four months you'd sleep with a guy?"
"No, but apparently this school lacks something...virgins," she lowers her voice, not wanting the librarian to overhear us.
"Wow, didn't know that. I have a religion and a belief though. I would wear my promise ring, but..."
"You don't want to get your ass kicked," she finishes for me, and I nod, slightly ashamed. Out of nowhere, she licks her lips and I see a flash of silver. No way. She has her tongue...pierced? She just knows exactly how to surprise me...and turn me on. It was creepy in a way, but definitely more hot.
"How do you know her?" I ask, careful not to mention her name.
"Zoey was my ex-boyfriend's obsession. But I'm over that time in my life. I don't think you want to be bored with over-exaggerated details from my old personal life, anyway." Besides the fact that nothing was going on, I was actually sort of eager to know more about the whole ordeal and where she'd come from. Since she didn't want to discuss it, I wasn't going to try and force her to. I didn't really feel like attempting to explain why we'd broken up either. It was too weird.
"Did you have a replacement date?"
"Uh, no. Again four months. Seems pretty solid, doesn't it?"
"Well, yeah. I was supposed to go with Vince. But then he got a girlfriend."
"Sucks."
"Yeah, it does. One of my only friends is dating one of the rubber bands!"
"Sounds like girl talk so you don't have to worry about telling me." She laughs, and I like the sound of it. Kinda cliché, I know. It tinkles and rings in my ears. I'm going down the checklist, and so far this girl has no empty boxes.
"I would have gone with my roommate. But I'm not exactly into girls," she reassures me. "Have you ever experimented?" she questions, a hint of hesitation in her voice.
"Uncomfortable territory, but no," I stammer.
"I kissed a girl once. It was awkward, but we were both buzzed, so she probably doesn't even remember."
"You drink?" I shout, and she presses her finger to her lips. For some reason, I forgot we were in the library. Maybe because of her and her surprises.
"I am sixteen ya know."
"Wow, you don't have any rules do you?"
"It depends on the company I have," she says. I see her arm reaching across the table, and the next thing I know she's squeezing my hand really tight and dragging me to the back of the library.
When she finally stops running through all the bookcases, I'm a little dizzy. She then plops down onto a pillow lying on the floor, and pats a more fluffy one next to her. In my daze, I imagine us together on a bed, my arms wrapped around her waist, my face pressed into her bare back. Only a sheet is covering her, and I'm shirtless.
"Dude!" she yells, and that's when I realize we haven't even introduced ourselves yet.
Positioning myself on the pillow next to her, I prepare to kindly ask what her name is, but she ignores my weak attempt. "I wanna play Truth or Dare. You're going first."
"No questions asked, huh?"
"Nope. So, which will it be?"
"Truth," I say confidently, wondering what she could possibly know about me.
"Is it true that...you were having dirty thoughts about me? At the table, and just few minutes ago?"
Deciding to take a chance, I nod. "Yeah. I can't help it, you're hot."
"Well, at least you're honest." Licking her lips, she smiles seductively. "Your turn."
"So vivacious vixen that looks like a Veronica," I begin, and she laughs like I expected her to. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth." It rolls off her tongue, and before I can stop myself, I blurt it out.
"Is it true that you want to make out with me?"
"I was hoping you'd ask that," she whispers, rising up to sit on my lap. As if I was expecting this, I place my hands on her hips as she cups my face and kisses me twice. Her lips taste of strawberries, and the way she uses her tongue makes me want to do things I would never be able to confess. Now her fingers are tugging on the ends of my hair, and I lean up a little, so I can be in a more comfortable position.
After about half a minute, she pulls away and we're both breathless. "That...was amazing," she compliments me and I shrug.
"Hey, I'm used to girls throwing themselves at me."
She pushes my shoulder lightly and I grin even wider. "I think we should take this to my dorm," I suggest and she doesn't hesitate.
"Yes, totally! I'd like that." Standing to my feet, I help her up. She links her arm through mine, and we begin our trek to the front doors of the library. As we walk, she keeps smiling at me and my face hurts from smiling back at her. The librarian raises her eyebrows when she sees us, but we're both just grinning like idiots.
But you know what? I'm happy. Who knew hooking up could be this fun? And who knew the library could bring together two very different people like us? Huh. Surprisingly, I did learn something today.
A/N: I do realize I didn't mention their names, but unless my characterization is that bad, you should know who both of them are. If you don't know my writing, you might not know who the girl is, but you can take a guess. After it's off the first page, I'll post the couple. Don't review asking who they are. Just don't.